Tom Izzo, Matt Painter named semifinalists for National Coach of the Year

Two B1G basketball coaches have been named semifinalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award.

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Purdue’s Matt Painter were two of the 11 semifinalists listed on Monday. The Spartans and Boilermakers shared the B1G regular season championship, after both finished the year 16-4 in conference play.

The two teams also split the season series with Michigan State winning in East Lansing and Purdue taking the matchup in West Lafayette.